Jayson Werth reflects on injury-plagued season after 8-7 win

PHILADELPHIA - In a season filled with injuries that have interfered with a division crown and a possible deep run into October, the Nationals are finally showing the potential of some of their battered stars.

Anthony Rendon and Jayson Werth - two guys who have combined to miss 151 games this year - led the way tonight as the Nationals outlasted the Phillies 8-7 in a game that featured 16 pitchers over 11 innings.

Rendon set the tone from the start, smacking the first pitch of the game from Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola over the left-center field wall for a leadoff homer. It was the first of Rendon's four hits on the night.

Bryce Harper drilled his 37th homer of the year in the third on a rocket to right. After the Phillies evened the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the inning, Werth responded with a thunderous two-out grand slam in the fourth.

The Phillies battled back again as Jordan Zimmermann coughed up four runs in the sixth, three on Cody Asche's home run.

The game carried into the 10th inning, and with one out, Werth launched his second bomb of the night on a solo shot to left-center.

But in his first return to Citizens Bank Park, Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon blew his first save of the season, surrendering a game-tying solo homer to Freddy Galvis.

Danny Espinosa drew a leadoff walk in the 11th and then advanced on a passed ball. Rendon's fourth hit of the night advanced Espinosa to third where he scored from on Yunel Escobar's chopper for the eventual game-winning run.

In no surprise, the Mets came back to beat the Marlins 4-3 for their eighth straight win, maintaining a 9 1/2-game stranglehold on the National League East lead.

"This game's kind of indicative of our season a little bit," Werth said. "We scored some runs and we give the lead back and then kind of back and forth. It seems like all year we hit and then we don't pitch, or we pitch and then we don't hit. It was good to be on the winning side of this one. It's kind of really just the story of our season."

Werth's season never really had the opportunity to get on track. Shoulder surgery in mid-January left the 36-year-old out for most of spring training. He missed the first six games of the year, making his season debut on April 13, but was never quite himself as he fought to gain his strength back in his shoulder.

Werth's batting average hovered around .200 until he suffered a major setback when a fastball darted inside in San Diego, fracturing his right wrist for the third time in his career. He hit the disabled list on May 16 and didn't return until July 28, missing 61 more games in the thick of the season.

Nationals manager Matt Williams stuck with Werth while the 13-year veteran struggled to regain his timing. During his first 19 games back, Werth hit .145 (9-for-62) and the Nats watched their division lead turn into a deficit with a 5-14 record over the dreadful stretch.

But Werth has turned it around drastically since Aug. 18, hitting .296 with six homers, nine doubles, one triple, 18 RBIs and 20 runs scored in 25 games. After tonight's two-homer, five-RBI performance, Werth reflected on what could have been if he and his teammates stayed healthy.

"I think about it a lot," Werth said. "It's disappointing. I look at it as opportunity lost. We had a lot going for us going into the season, and although it's not over by any means, but you just get the sense that we kind of let this one slip through our grasp a little bit. It's unfortunate. It's hard to swallow.

"It would feel great if we weren't 9 1/2 games back. I get the sense that it's too little too late. Anything can still happen of course. But it's been a tough go. We didn't stay healthy. Like I said, this game is a perfect example. We hit, we don't pitch. We pitch, we don't hit. You gotta match up. To be a championship team, you gotta match up. You gotta do the little things. You gotta win games. You gotta hold leads. You gotta come from behind. You gotta walk people off. You gotta do a lot of things. It looks like we fell a little short this year."

Werth is wrapping up his fifth year with the Nats and still has two more seasons remaining on the deal he signed to come to Washington in 2010. Meanwhile, several of his longtime teammates - Ian Desmond, Denard Span, Doug Fister and Zimmermann - have contracts expiring at the end of the season.

"I don't know what's gonna happen, but most likely this team's gonna be a lot different next year," Werth said clearly understanding that time is running out. "You play with these guys every day and you come to work with these guys. You're basically family, so you want to make the most of your opportunities. I feel like we definitely didn't this year."